With Don 2 all set to release in Germany this week with a premiere at the prestigious Berlinale, on a nippy winter night director Farhan Akhtar donned the role of the cultural ambassador at the residence of German Ambassador to India in New Delhi. For those who are unaware of the latest adventures of Don, this time the anti-hero created chaos in the organised life of the picturesque Berlin and opened news vistas for the Hindi film industry, which till now was happy scaling Alps in the neighbouring Switzerland.
Don got mixed response from the critics but he managed to rake in the moolah at the box office. Farhan brings his sense of humour along and it defrosts the night and the cynics who found it a copy of Hollywood capers. “Heist and car chases are crucial cogs in action thrillers. The point is how they have been filmed and considering the gap between budgets of Hollywood and Bollywood productions we did a decent job,” he muted the comparison with Ocean's Eleven . As for similarity with Bond films, Farhan says the comparison is misplaced as Don is probably the first anti-hero, who is not on the right side of the law, to have a sequel made in his name. “Usually sequels are made for a character, who is doing something good. Don does everything but good. It sets him apart. It is interesting to see how people are interested in a character with dark shades,” adds Farhan.
Recalling his affair with Berlin, which is an important character in his film, Farhan says in 2007 he went to the city on a holiday with his family. “Doing all the touristy things, I was really struck by the architecture and history of the place. Script-ise it fit the bill because Germany is the financial capital of Europe, Berlin has not been seen in any Hindi film and Shah Rukh has a huge fan following in Germany.”
Farhan praises the high level of professionalism of the German crew members. “Unlike India, nobody offered something that he won't be able to deliver. If there was something I could not get, I was categorically told that I could not have it.”
He narrates his experience with Andy, a pyrotechnician, who set the scene for a big explosion. “He asked how big the explosion should be. I said may be up to four floors. Then he asked about the colour of the explosion. Finding me amazed, he offered options. He said it could be deep red, orange or whitish. I called my DOP to discuss the colour that will expose better. Then he asked about the time. I said around sunset, maybe 5.15-5.30. He asked us to clear the area by one as he needed four hours to set it up. In India we are used to the adage that a shot happens when it happens but there everything happened as it was promised, the colour, the height, and the time everything matched with the promise.”
Recently, he has won awards for best actor in a supporting role and best dialogue writer but Farhan plays down his ability to multi-task. “I never consciously tried to break norms. I like filmmaking and all the parts I play help in making a film. I am naturally drawn to things that are not happening otherwise. More often than not when I read a script and feel that so many films like this are being made somehow I lose interest.” Farhan is also the one who embraced technology without diluting the content. First one to introduce sync sound with Dil Chahta Hai, Farhan says, “We have had actors dubbing their dialogues and undoubtedly they are good performances. But more often than not the scenes which were recorded on the sets, the performance stood out. In Deewar, the scene where Vijay had the confrontation with god was not dubbed at all. You can hear the camera sound. Imagine if you had the technology where the whole film was not dubbed then Amitabh Bachchan or Dilip Kumar's performance would have made a huger impact. So I found it odd that when this technology become available and people were still not using it.”
When people have started seeing him in front of the camera, they could visualise that the lines that he wrote for Aamir in Dil Chahta Hai or Shah Rukh in Don actually reflect his sense of humour. Does it create a challenge for him as a director? “When I write I don't visualise myself in any of the parts and I don't feel the need to direct myself as a director. And when you are watching the film and you are buying the plot, I don't think your mind wonders who else could have been in this part.”
Come March and Farhan will start shooting for Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra's Bhaag Milkha Bhaag, where he is playing the legendary athlete.
“People are very touchy about their personal lives. Milkha is an exception to this rule. He has been very frank about his life. It is huge responsibility on all of us involved in the project to justify his faith.”
